Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories.

From the Blog:

Riaad Moosa says that Islam is a religion which is tolerant and open to comedy, especially in South Africa.

CNN: Comic talks Muslim humor and Islamophobia
If laughter is the best medicine then few are more qualified to offer a prescription than Riaad Moosa. The South African comic-turned-movie-actor is a fully trained doctor, but it's his Indian heritage and Muslim faith that provide the basis for his stand-up material. "I'm a comedian who happens to be Muslim [and] my comedy stems on all forms of my identity," he says.

CNN: Liberal Catholics use election results to battle bishops
Emboldened by the re-election of President Barack Obama, a cadre of liberal Catholic activists and groups is waging a campaign alleging that America's Catholic bishops are out of touch with Catholic laypeople. The Catholic bishops, who are in Baltimore this week for a quarterly meeting, spoke out against the Obama administration during the election cycle over what they said were White House violations of religious freedom.

Photo of the Day:

For Roger Seepersad from the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Diwali offers the perfect opportunity to snap some spectacular images. This photo shows actors praying at the end of a re-enactment of the life of the Indian king Lord Ram.

Los Angeles Times: Growing ties between Egypt, Turkey may signal new regional order
Egypt and Turkey are forging an alliance that showcases two Islamist leaders maneuvering to reshape a Middle East gripped by political upheaval and passionate battles over how deeply the Koran should penetrate public life. Each country has a distinct vision of political Islam, but Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia, and Egypt, the traditional heart of the Arab world, complement each other for now. Turkey's strong economy may help rescue Egypt from financial crisis, while Cairo may further Ankara's ambition to rise as a force among Islamic-backed governments.

Religion News Service: At OKcupid, being an atheist is a date-maker, not a deal-breaker
In some circles, being an atheist is a strike against you. But at the online site OkCupid, it might just help you get a date. In 2009, the site’s founders analyzed responses from more than 500,000 users and discovered that including the word “atheist” in a first message to another user was more likely to garner a reply than any other religious descriptor except Christian.

Quote of the Day:

Today, here at home and across the globe, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists will celebrate the holiday of Diwali – the festival of lights. Diwali is a time for gathering with family and friends, often marked with good food and dancing. It is also a time for prayer and reflection about those less fortunate. It is a testament to the compassion of these communities that so many of them have helped those that have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

Many who observe this holiday will light the Diya, or lamp, which symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. As that lamp is lit, we should all recommit ourselves to bring light to any place still facing darkness…

CNN: Religious and spiritual leaders on moving past a divisive election
As the nation winds down after a hard-fought and divisive election season, what needs to happen to heal our country? What have we learned? What can we hope for as we move forward? We reached out to religious leaders and spiritual thinkers to get their perspectives. Here are excerpts of what they wrote in response.

soundoff(168 Responses)

Virtual Restaurant IMPOSSIBLE! With your host, Chef Robert Irvine

This week: Corner Cafe

What were you thinking? You can’t tell me how much you are spending in Costs….to make a Panini…is THAT what you are telling me? How you can expect to make a profit when you don’t even know how much you are spending??? Alright, I to need to meet with my design crew. YOU think about it.

November 14, 2012 at 1:25 pm |

Belief Blog Bistro

Hey, you gotta blog but you gotta eat too!

Try our new Prayer-Bot Burrito! It is packed full of rice, beans and cheese. Your choice of chicken, carne asada, or carnitas. $7.99. (Wet add $2.00)

Reading the posts of menu latencies does leave one's stomach aching and bellowing for food! The more I read the menus the more I am yearning for food to dare eat! I only have some turkey slices and a few pieces of bread I am trying to save for later on. Generic soda pops will quiet my stomach's churnings. Ah the sweet sugar os it all!

Let Us Love,
Lettuce Love,
G.O.D.

November 14, 2012 at 1:07 pm |

lionlylamb

"Lionly Lamb Chop"

No thanks it's filled with too much garbage and fillers so it's not healthy for you.

November 14, 2012 at 1:10 pm |

Belief Blog Bistro

Trolls get 10% off! If you haven't picked up your discount card yet please apply here. Today's lunch special is a delicious Asparagus and Ham Panini, served with Peperoncini and your choice of chips. $6.99.

Click on my "blue" made name and you will be going to WordPress. Once there try and find your way to become a member. Once a member your name here in CNN Belief Blog will be written in blue. I am now learning to post at wordpress. Slow though I am, but I hardly ever give up on trying.

I am better suited in genericisms rather than buying the labels' marketing ploys. Maxwellhouse is not to be outdone in my mere pennilessness. I have meager funds so to say, and I truly do like things this way! Lil Cesear's pepperoni pizza for 5 bucks a pie! Here's 'mud' in your eye!

Are individual rights based on societal righteousness within the parameters of cultural soundness being the kindled line drawn and distanced by religious austerities? How far away from religious agendaships will the leveraging hierarchies be twained and marked as being mere factors of the mythological?

Have the vesper pottages of humanism become complacently illiterate nowadays? Where then does the root-commodities of religious socialisms truly matter and 'riotizingly' materialize upon spatterings' irrational causations? I do shudder in the crowds' 'vespered' laments, for of crowded sarcasms does lay the tutors of indemnifications' coverings leaving no more the generosities of the lividness' trees of multi-faceted generalisms.

Monotheisms do nowadays abound, for many variations of 'mono-isms' are but fetters, the bonds that do bind up and weigh shackled inward, towards errancies subjugated upon the propensities of root cause worthiness. The godless need the ungodly and vice versa and although goodly does prevail upon and thru all aberrancy, many are plated and some are filtrations while many are mere silhouettes. No one person should be upon another's backsides but raised by the shoulders of another to such heights as deemed wise, needed and sublimated. Goodness knows no boundaries yet many do not heed the goodly in others who share unendingly their deeded austerities.

Monotheistic is what the gestations of ungodly and godless unwittingly portend they themself to be. They are their own gods so to profess and in their cu-mulative efforts they due themselves conjoin and gather their piecemeal subjugants forsaking all goodly 'proprietaries' relatively based in Godly characterizations. "I will not give in!" are the ungodly and godless stands even though they tend to belittle and make small their talking spheres of jubilation's acquitals. A pig knows only how to root and make rutts searching the grounds for its' nourishments. Are we all not but rooting for our source codes?

Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturitions are to me,
As plurdled gabbleblotchits,
On a lurgid bee,
That mordiously hath bitled out,
Its earted jurtles,
Into a rancid festering confectious inchulsphygnum. [drowned out by moaning and screaming]
Now the jurpling slayjid agrocrustles,
Are slurping hagrilly up the axlegrurts,
And living glupules frart and slipulate,
Like jowling meated liverslime,
Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turling dromes,
And hooptiously drangle me,
With crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or else I shall rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon,
See if I don't.

"lionlylamb", I notice that there is an irregularity in your post, with respect to the pattern "....blah". Perhaps you could explain this regularity. Subscribers to my data banks, particularly those from IX, are asking that you "share with us".

Monotheistic is what the gestations of ungodly and godless portend they themself to be. They are their own gods so to profess and in their cu-mulative efforts they due themselves conjoin and gather their piecemeal subjugants forsaking all goodly 'proprietaries' relatively based in Godly characterizations. "I will not give in!" are the ungodly and godless stands even though they tend to belittle and make small their talking spheres of jubilation's acquitals. A pig knows only how to root and make rutts searching the grounds for its' nourishments. Are we all not but rooting for our source codes?

Monotheisms do nowadays abound for many variations of 'mono-isms' are but fetters, the bonds that do bind up and weigh shackled inward, towards errancies subjugated upon the propensities of root cause worthiness. The godless need the ungodly and vice versa and although goodly does prevail upon and thru all aberrancy, many are plated and some are filtrations while many are mere silhouettes. No one person should be upon another's backsides but raised by the shoulders of another to such heights as deemed wise, needed and sublimated. Goodness knows no boundaries yet many do not heed the goodly in others who share unendingly their deeded austerities.

Politically orientated is not my special-ism nor are political motifs to be my rendering ways. The challenges of one's course is how I make salutations and bidding where upon others might gain in prothetical undulations to make vivid an enamouring of love-set generalizations contrary to popular beneficiaries.

Lionlylamb:
Are you, perchance, "Hide Behind" on the 'This Just In' blog?

November 14, 2012 at 1:06 pm |

Doc Vestibule

Theology is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isn't there and shouting "I found it!"
Science is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat using a flashlight.

November 14, 2012 at 10:11 am |

Damocles

Nice!

November 14, 2012 at 10:13 am |

Ting

Thanks. God less you.

November 14, 2012 at 10:34 am |

William Demuth

The whole Atheist dating thing is interesting.

As a very vocal non-believer, I can offer something not commonly known.

Being blasphemous drives the Christian woman crazy!

Having bedded at least six married and profoundly Christian women in the past five years I can assure you they want to save a lot more than your soul.

Most are borderline celibate and QUITE frustrated. Compel them to admit their doubts, and they become vulnerable.

It seems speaking of one’s feelings is frowned upon in Christian marriages, and the faith is actually used to keep women subservient.

It seems the old “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” line is actually a lifelong curse.

I relish freeing women from it!

November 14, 2012 at 10:09 am |

The Truth

"Compel them to admit their doubts, and they become vulnerable."

I think you mean "Compel them to admit their doubts, and they become reasonable."

November 14, 2012 at 11:31 am |

ME II

While it doesn't take belief to be good.

It's also apparent that disbelief doesn't automatically make you good either. Congrats on being a low-life.

November 14, 2012 at 11:43 am |

William Demuth

A low life?

The tecniques I recomend have brought me two children, one who has two medical degrees and one well on his way.

Save the pompous bull for those who care about your opinions!!!

I suspect you're Christian, but alas I also suspect you are chubby.

Homey don't do chubby!

November 14, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

Too Sad

William,

I really feel sorry for you. Your hate and pride will be your undoing. I've read your posts over the last several months, but have refused to comment until now. You are going to hell without Jesus Christ in your life. This isn't something I say with glee...God does not want you to fall away (nor do I), but your current path is leading you inevitable destruction. I wish you well, but caution you that what you mock is real and its really going to suck when you come to the conclusion that you are wrong.

It's interesting how people like you constantly feel the need to try and make your condescending bullshit sound better. The fact remains that there is no evidence of your god, and the fact that your god is internally logically contradictory in its characteristics means it almost certainly doesn't exist. The doctrine you follow is an immoral one, full of favoritism, immorality, prejudice, and unjust crap.

November 14, 2012 at 2:22 pm |

ME II

@William Demuth,
What does your children have to do with anything?
You claim to sleep with other men's wives and seem proud of it. I couldn't care less about the "sancti.ty" of marriage, but you are helping them break a rather big promise and you are possibly undermining the stability of a family, and possibly the children.

In my mind, that makes you a low-life.

p.s. I'm not sure why you would even bring up my weight, I'm male and straight, so unless you're a lesbian that sleeps with married women, I couldn't care less what "Homie does".

November 14, 2012 at 2:27 pm |

JellyBean@ME II

"I couldn't care less about the "sancti.ty" of marriage."

Then why call him a low life?

November 16, 2012 at 7:32 am |

Robert Brown

Christians have damaged God’s reputation.
A person is in a ditch, unconscious from too much to drink. A Christian comes by and sees the person and thinks how disgusting another drunk. The Christian then goes into action saying, “hey drunk, wake up, get out of the ditch, quit drinking, clean up, repent, and turn to the Lord.”
A drunk doesn’t need to be told they are a drunk. They already know it. Does the Good Samaritan ring a bell? Help the person out of the ditch, get them to a dry, clean, warm place to sleep it off, bathe, change clothes, and eat some food. Then the person may ask “why are you helping me?” Now you can tell the person how Jesus loved you first, lifted you out of the pit of sin, cleaned you up, clothed you in his righteousness, and nourishes your spirit.

November 14, 2012 at 9:05 am |

Phil

Robert you are so full of it, you don't need to believe in a God to help other people. Christians like you do more harm than good in our society with your fairy talk nonsense, time to grow up and actually become a man.

November 14, 2012 at 9:14 am |

William Demuth

Hanna Barbera has damaged Scooby Doo's reputation as well.

And don't even get me started about those damn Amazing Spiderman movies

I mean making Spidey a romantic lead!!!!

I agree with Mr Brown. Our imaginary characters need to be respected!

November 14, 2012 at 9:29 am |

Damocles

@rob

So if you didn't see this as a chance to preach to someone you would what? Let the poor bastid lay there? How about just helping out a fellow human because it's the right thing to do? Being a good person is not complicated.

November 14, 2012 at 9:32 am |

Flyby

How sad to see otherwise intelligent people spouting utter nonsense. Brainwashing should be a felony.

It seems that apparencies dare to elude the confontationally enveloped myopic social protrusions. No matter for their means meant well yet in their judgemental states do they cling ever steadfastly as either being godless or ungodly in the full frontal views of the goodly who dare character analysis ventings.

November 14, 2012 at 10:00 am |

Robert Brown

Phil,
I agree with you that nonbelievers can be compassionate. The man you propose I become is from your fleshly perspective. You must be born again, spiritually, before you can even become a child, much less an adult.

November 14, 2012 at 10:07 am |

Phil

Robert you believe in fairy tales, that is childish and you know deep down it's not real, now become an adult and grow up to become a productive member of our society. You're invisible friend doesn't exist.

November 14, 2012 at 10:10 am |

Robert Brown

Damocles,
I must have used a poor example for the point I was attempting to make, which was simply that we do nothing but harm the cause of Christ by being judgmental.

November 14, 2012 at 10:15 am |

Damocles

@rob

Can you please tell me why you need a belief in a deity to be a good person? If you are doing it because of a belief in a heaven, then you are doing good strictly for selfish reasons. Since a heaven is the logical conclussion seen from a believers eyes, it is rather hard to say otherwise.

November 14, 2012 at 10:20 am |

Robert Brown

Phil,
I believe in God, deep down I know he is real. Flesh is flesh. Spirit is spirit. Why are you so adamantly opposed to God?

November 14, 2012 at 10:22 am |

Phil

How can someone be adamantly oppose something that doesn't exist. Do you adamantly oppose the tooth-fairy? You're just afraid to face reality and your fears make you believe in an invisible friend, but deep down you know it doesn't exist. Time to grow up and become a real man.

November 14, 2012 at 10:30 am |

Robert Brown

Damocles,
I don’t need a belief in a deity to be a good person. You and I may be very good people in the eyes of others. God sees me as good, not because I am, but because of Christ. Christians don’t do good things to earn heaven. You cannot earn it. It is a gift.

November 14, 2012 at 10:34 am |

Phil

Robert a gift means it is completely free, it means you don't have to anything to get it but based on your religion that is not true, so it can't be a gift. Gift means a thing given willingly to someone without payment. Time to grow up and become a man.

November 14, 2012 at 10:39 am |

Ting

Satans dong nailed it. No pun intended.

November 14, 2012 at 10:42 am |

Damocles

@rob

So if it's a gift given in a rather haphazard way because no two believers can ever seem to agree on what gets you into heaven, your posistion in your last post seems to make a case for not doing good, or at least not caring one way or another.

November 14, 2012 at 10:43 am |

Huebert

RB

You describe heaven as something that is earned through a belief in Jesus. How can you call it a gift?

November 14, 2012 at 10:45 am |

Robert Brown

Phil,
I have no idea how, or why, you are so adamantly opposed to something you don’t believe exists. Has a person of faith harmed you in some way? Do you feel you are performing a public service?
I accepted Christ as a young man before I had out grown the sense of immortality that most young men have. I don’t recall fear entering into my thought process at that time. Is there something that you fear?

November 14, 2012 at 10:45 am |

Robert Brown

Phil, Damocles, & Huebert
What is the action that you would perform to believe and trust? Faith itself is a gift. He could give it to you even if you didn’t want it. He is offering it to you right now. He will continue to offer it to you because of his grace and mercy. The bad news is you have the option to refuse it.

November 14, 2012 at 10:53 am |

Robert Brown

Ting,
A reputation is what people think about you. When Christians do things unchristian things, people think poorly of Christians and God.

November 14, 2012 at 10:57 am |

Huebert

RB

If god had any desire or me to believe in him it would be easy for him to convince me. After all he is omniscient, so he would know exactly what evidence I would need. So either God can't prove his existence or he won't. Either way I'm not going to waste my time with such an impotent creature.

November 14, 2012 at 11:02 am |

Damocles

@rob

Let me say that when a person does something bad, I think poorly of the person, the beliefs held by that person do not come into play.

It is not much of a gift if there are 'dire consequences' to not accepting it. It is a bribe, a cajoling, an 'offer you better not refuse'. A man with a gun would offer me a gift as well.

November 14, 2012 at 11:07 am |

Robert Brown

Huebert,
You mean like the time you spend here. I think God has his sights set on you. We humans demand instant gratification. God moves in his own time.

November 14, 2012 at 11:26 am |

Robert Brown

Damocles,
Let’s consider Williams post above from a humanist perspective, he is really just helping these poor lonely frustrated married Christian women. If he didn’t help them someone else would. Nothing wrong with that is there?

November 14, 2012 at 11:28 am |

Huebert

RB

Lame. The reason I am on this blog is that this is one of the only websites not blocked by my employer's web filter. This blog is little more than a way for me to kill the hours between eight and five.

November 14, 2012 at 11:31 am |

Phil

Robert, it's not a gift and that's the point. If it was completely free then everyone would go to your heaven without any consequences or requirements, but that is not what your handbook states. Your religion uses fear to sell it's product, that is not love. You can keep trying to twist it so you feel ok about believing in your invisible friend, but it doesn't make that invisible friend anymore real than the tooth-fairy.

November 14, 2012 at 11:32 am |

Phil

I am on here because people like Robert crack me up and this is an entertainment website for a reason.

November 14, 2012 at 11:34 am |

Ting

Robert,

People don't have to see a Christian do anything unchristian like to think poorly of your god. All they have to do is pick up a Bible. Your god is anything but "Christ like". Jesus has issues too but they are small in comparison to your god. Then there's the whole trilogy thing which makes it really confusing. It's like multiple personalities. There's the evil god, the mostly nice Jesus, and then a ghost that enters people's bodies like a demon and makes them flop around on Benny Hinn's stage. No thanks. We can only hope that most people will eventually realize how silly all of this is and finally accept reality. It's not hard to do.

November 14, 2012 at 11:54 am |

Andy

Assume much? Set up much?

November 14, 2012 at 12:20 pm |

Robert Brown

God's voice is real, I can prove it.

November 14, 2012 at 12:34 pm |

Huebert

RB

I await your proof with baited breath.

November 14, 2012 at 12:36 pm |

Robert Brown

I didn’t post this “God's voice is real, I can prove it.” Whoever it is did the same thing yesterday.

November 14, 2012 at 1:04 pm |

Robert Brown

Phil,
What is my compensation? What work are you required to do? What are you required to pay?

November 14, 2012 at 1:10 pm |

Phil

"What work are you required to do? What are you required to pay?"

Really Robert you're going to play dumb, that just shows you don't know your bible. Come on dude you're not that stupid?

November 14, 2012 at 1:12 pm |

Robert Brown

Ting,
God hates sin. You see him as evil because he judges sin. God loves people. You see Jesus as nice because he forgives sin. God indwells believers with his holy spirit to give them peace and comfort, not to make them flop around. You too can believe it is very easy.

How many times does it have to be told that you saying god is real means absolutely nothing, and that your defense of the immoral system in the bible is just plain ridiculous?

November 14, 2012 at 1:25 pm |

Bill

" You too can believe it is very easy."

No, it's not. God gave us a rule book to follow and if you don't follow that rule book you will burn in hell for all eternity. That's is why its so hard for so many to actually get into Heaven. God's rule book tells us how to love God and you don't make up the rules. You don't get a free ride and if you think you do Robert, then you don't understand the bible at all.

November 14, 2012 at 1:26 pm |

Robert Brown

Phil,
Christian = faith + zero.
No work or pay, just faith. Faith leads us to work. Work doesn’t lead to faith.

November 14, 2012 at 1:28 pm |

Robert Brown

Hawaiiguest,
I understand God means nothing to you.
Immoral system?

November 14, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

Sardine

Huebert
"I await your proof with baited breath."

That sounds pretty fishy, Huebert!

(it's "bated breath" - "bate", meaning "to restrain")

(unless you were "baiting" Robert to respond?)

November 14, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

Phil

Robert that is the requirement in order to get the "free gift" you are trying to sell. It's not free because there is a requirement. If it was truly "free" then everyone would get into heaven, no questions or requirements. If you don't meet the requirements laid out in the bible Robert what happens? That means it's not "free."

November 14, 2012 at 1:32 pm |

Robert Brown

God is real. If you want to hear him got to church with a lot of people. You will feel hima nd hear him

Bill,
God gave us the bible to show us we need a savior and how to be reconciled to him. When you agree with God you will realize you are a sinner in need of a savior. Don’t you get it, no one can follow the rules, they are there to show you that you can’t be holy or acceptable to God without Jesus.

November 14, 2012 at 1:38 pm |

Ting

If God hates sin then he must not think very highly of himself.

November 14, 2012 at 1:39 pm |

Robert Brown

Phil,
Let me try it this way. What you are calling a requirement, I am calling acceptance. With an outstretched hand I offer you a gift. You will have to open your hand so I can place it in yours. You can wave me off and say no thanks. If that is what you term as a requirement then I agree with you. You can refuse the gift. God can, but he may not, force you to take it.

November 14, 2012 at 1:46 pm |

Bill

"Don’t you get it, no one can follow the rules, they are there to show you that you can’t be holy or acceptable to God without Jesus."

Even with Jesus we are still bound to all the rules that God laid out to us in the Bible and how we are to love him. You can't change to rules to make it easy on yourself Robert, they are there as our guide to get to heaven. Even if you believe in Jesus and don't follow the rules you will not get into heaven. Stop trying to sugar coat our God and get a righteous heart by telling the truth on what you have to do in order to get into heaven.

November 14, 2012 at 1:46 pm |

Robert Brown

Hawaiiguest,
God is good and merciful. He is also just. Justice called and mercy answered.

Are we going to go through this again? Are you really so completely useless that all you can do is give blind assertions that have been rejected over and over?

November 14, 2012 at 1:55 pm |

Robert Brown

Hawaiiguest,
I suppose so. God’s offer is still open for you. Will you come to him today?

November 14, 2012 at 3:08 pm |

Christianity is a mental disease- FACT

Robert Brown

Bill,

God gave us the bible
.
Um you are being dishonest. Man gave us writings that he claims was the word of a god. Your faith starts in your fellow man....kind of sounds like you are Satanic.

November 14, 2012 at 3:10 pm |

Christianity is a mental disease- FACT

hawaiiguest

@Robert

Are we going to go through this again? Are you really so completely useless that all you can do is give blind assertions that have been rejected over and over?
–
–
Yes he is like a doll pulling its own string...same thing over and over. You must have faith in what Robert Brown says.

November 14, 2012 at 3:12 pm |

Christianity is a mental disease- FACT

hawaiiguest

@Robert

Are we going to go through this again? Are you really so completely useless that all you can do is give blind as sertions that have been rejected over and over?
–
–
Yes he is like a doll pulling its own string...same thing over and over. You must have faith in what Robert Brown says.

November 14, 2012 at 3:12 pm |

Christianity is a mental disease- FACT

oops double post sorry

November 14, 2012 at 3:13 pm |

Bill

Remember you must confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. In order to be certain of a place in eternity with God you must trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You must believe that He died and rose again in order to pay the penalty for your sins and conquer death on your behalf. If you do not believe in these things you will not be welcomed in heaven.

I'm done with your self-indulgent bullshit. Continue with your blind assertions, because it's obvious you don't give a shit about actual discussion. All you want to do is spout out the same moronic idiocy so you can feel the warm fuzzies you get by being a dishonest fuckstick.

November 14, 2012 at 3:35 pm |

Robert Brown

Bill,
I agree with your last paragraph and hope we aren’t at odds. In my posts to nonbelievers above I was trying to convey to them the importance of faith. They are starting with the premise that there is no such thing as God, or at best God is a possibility. In it’s simplest form couldn’t your paragraph be reduced to faith? What else can or should we do other than spread the gospel? One sows, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase. He does the work in their hearts and minds we can only share the word. How else can anyone obtain faith, isn’t even faith itself a gift from God to be accepted or rejected?

November 14, 2012 at 3:45 pm |

Telling

We can tell so much about a person's character by how he thinks his imaginary god did behave, does behave and will behave. Endless possibilities – all with no verified evidence – and what do they choose?

November 14, 2012 at 3:52 pm |

Robert Brown

Hawaiiguest,
What you term “actual discussion” is really debate or argument about the existence of God. You want someone to prove God to you in words on the belief blog, or you may just enjoy the argument itself. Someone may write something on here and God may use it to open your eyes, so by all means enjoy your debates and arguments. As I have told you before, the debate or argument is just not my thing. I prefer sharing the gospel and wish you all the best. Peace.

November 14, 2012 at 4:01 pm |

ArthurP

Woman "denied a termination" dies in hospital – despite being told that the fe.tus was dying, woman was denied an abo.rtion because "this is a Catholic, pro-life, country" (Irish Times Wednesday, November 14, 2012)

November 14, 2012 at 8:27 am |

lunchbreaker

Don't forget about the girl who died because the doctors where scared to adminster chemo, as they thought it might terminate the pregnancy. They had a tough choice between the fetus or the mother AND the fetus. Good call.

Prayer does not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.

An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.

The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs.

November 14, 2012 at 8:30 am |

Tom, Tom, the Other One

Someone left this. I 'd hate to guess where it's been:

"Atheists can not make an a-priori claim that the supernatural is impossible, unless they disprove the existence of the God of Israel"

Which may be a decay product of "Atheists cannot make an a-priori claim that the supernatural is impossible, unless they disprove the existence of at least one thing that is supernatural".

Or is it "Atheists cannot make an a-priori claim that the supernatural is impossible, unless they disprove the existence of everything that is supernatural"?

Hmm... Certainly I can conjecture that the supernatural is impossible if no one can produce an example of the supernatural. Actually, I'd avoid the modal "impossible" and conjecture that the supernatural does not occur. At any rate, the conjecture serves me well until someone comes up with an example of the supernatural.

When is something supernatural anyway? When it exceeds irreducible laws of nature? Are there such laws?

November 14, 2012 at 6:48 am |

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son

Whats supernatural is my chesticles of 65 years don't need a bra. I tuck them into my pants.

November 14, 2012 at 8:33 am |

Flyby

We do not need to prove what has already been proven. There are no gods and nothing that is supernatural or magic that exists at all anywhere. We already HAVE proof of there being nothing supernatural or magic and we already HAVE proof that there are no gods whatsoever.
But you can't get brainwashed people to face any truths or facts that clearly contradict the lies they have been indoctrinated to believe. This is why brainwashing should be a felony.

November 14, 2012 at 9:47 am |

lunchbreaker

Isn't it interesting that over the course of history things that used to be considered supernatural are discovered to be quite natural?

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.